The passenger car market in China expanded by 29% year-over-year in August, thanks to registration tax reductions for some ICE models (engines below 2,000cc and price up to 300,000 CNY / $42,100), as well as ongoing growth of plug-in models.
The plug-in electric car segment almost doubled compared to a year ago to a near record level.
According to EV Volumes' data, shared by Jose Pontes, some 552,000 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China in August, which is 92% more than a year ago and about 60% of the global plug-in car market.
Market share of plug-ins improved to 30%, including 22% BEVs and 8% PHEVs. We guess that in both cases, the number will be even better later this year.
Results for the month:
- BEVs: about 412,000 (up 80%) and 22% share
- PHEVs: about 140,000 (up 137%) and 8% share
- Total: 552,195 (up 92%) and 30% share
Plug-in electric car sales in China – August 2022
So far this year, over 3.4 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China - that's more than in the entire year 2021.
- BEVs: about *2.63 million and 20% share
- PHEVs: about *0.79 million and 6% share
- Total: 3,412,938 and 26% share
* estimated from the market share
For reference, in 2021, the total plug-in electric car registrations increased by about 153% year-over-year to over 3.2 million (from 1.27 million in 2020).
According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)'s updated forecast, some 6 million passenger plug-in electric cars might be sold in China in 2022.
Model rank
In August, BYD continued to be the main electrification force in China, putting several of its models in the top 10 for plug-ins (all plug-in versions counted together).
Interestingly, both the Song and Qin families were above the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV, with the Tesla Model Y just off the podium.
The BYD Song is currently really strong with 36,791 PHEVs and 5,688 BEV registrations (new record levels). Who knows how high it might go - maybe even 50,000 per month total?
Overall, the entire market is booming and it appears that most of the models set new or near-record results.
Top 10 for the month:
- BYD Song Plus (BEV + PHEV): 42,479
- BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV): 35,688
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 33,866
- Tesla Model Y: 31,796
- BYD Han (BEV + PHEV): 25,987
- BYD Dolphin: 23,469
- BYD Yuan Plus BEV: 18,006
- GAC Aion S: 11,683
- GAC Aion Y: 11,012
- Hozon Neta V EV: 10,236
* BEV and PHEV versions of the same models were counted together in the source.
Year-to-date, the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV remains the market leader in terms of volume, but its advantage over the BYD Song (BEV + PHEV) decreased.
The BYD Qin family, on the other hand, strengthened above the Tesla Model Y, despite Tesla having a really good month.
Top 10 year-to-date:
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 278,822
- BYD Song Plus (BEV + PHEV): 239,354
- BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV): 198,179
- Tesla Model Y: 172,711
- BYD Han (BEV + PHEV): 148,382
- BYD Dolphin: 102,476
- BYD Yuan Plus BEV: 92,091
- BYD Tang (BEV + PHEV): 77,489
- Li Xiang One EREV: 75,397
- Chery QQ Ice Cream: 72,094
Brands
If we compare brands, it turns out that BYD is on track to take a third of the market.
Top brands by share in the plug-in segment year-to-date:
- BYD: 28.4%
- SAIC-GM-Wuling: 9.1%
- Tesla: 7.1%
- Chery: 4.8%
- GAC: 4.5%
- Volkswagen: 3.8%
- Geely: 3.6%
Top automotive groups by share in the plug-in segment year-to-date:
- BYD: 28.4%
- SAIC: 12.0%
including SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM and Liuzhou Wuling Motors) - Tesla: 7.1%
- Geely-Volvo: 5.4%
- Chery: 4.9%
- GAC: 4.7%
- Volkswagen Group: 4.3%
